Microsoft To Enable Voice Messages On Xbox One

Although the Xbox One was more powerful, boasted better graphics and incorporated new features such as cloud storage, one popular element of the Xbox 360 was lost in transition, namely the voice messaging feature. Now Microsoft looks set to bring back the feature as part of its April system update for the Xbox One.

Xbox One: Simplifying the messaging process

If reports are to be believed then Xbox One gamers will no longer have to type out messages to their friends using the controller, which can take a while. The messaging process is set to be simplified with the introduction of a voicemail feature, which enables users to record and send voice messages to their friends.

Upon logging into their account, users will notice that they have a pending message, and will be able to listen to it in much the same way as they do a voicemail on their phone. Although most people do not willingly use the voicemail service on their cellphone, on the Xbox the service comes into its own.

Responding to user feedback

According to Richar Irvin, a member of the Xbox engineering team, users have been asking for the return of the service since the Xbox One was released in November 2013. Anyone who has ever tried to write a message using the console’s controller will appreciate just how difficult and time-consuming it can be, and it seems a large number of users would agree.

Xbox feedback forms reveal that it is one of the most wanted items for many users, and Microsoft is finally responding to the call for its return. As well as bringing voice messaging to the Xbox One, Microsoft will also enable voice communication between different generations of the console, which goes to show the company’s commitment to supporting users of its older consoles.

Preview members can already access the software update which contains the feature. Communicating while playing multiplayer online games is set to become much easier, once again, for Xbox owners, who are presumably hoping that the feature does not get lost when the Xbox Two is launched.